Cabada, Pritz win 25K titles

Weekly Racing Recap for May 16

To say that results from this week of racing came from a variety of distances and disciplines would be a severe understatement. From a road mile to the highest level of track and field racing, from a 12K in San Francisco that featured naked runners as well as some of the fastest road specialists in the world to hot conference action in the NCAA, all the best of distance running is recapped here.

USA 1 Mile Road Championships

In 2009, David Torrence won the inaugural 1 Mile Road Championships in Minneapolis, and the $14,000 he earned as a reward allowed him to train full-time — which catapulted him into the elite ranks of U.S. middle-distance runners. He returned in 2010, and defended his title. It should be no surprise, then, that the 2011 edition of the race saw the same result. Torrence used a blazing final quarter mile to run 3:58.4, easily beating Aaron Braun (4:01.2) and Craig Miller (4:01.3) to win his third straight title and this year’s $4,000 first prize.

Sara Hall was more patient in the women’s race, but she, too, earned first-place prize money with her 4:30.8, using a strong finishing kick to take her to an even more dominating performance than Torrence’s. Heather Kampf finished second in a distant 4:36.3 and then boarded a plane for this weekend’s Diamond League meet in China.

In late August and into September, Daegu, South Korea, will host the world’s best track and field athletes at the 2011 IAAF World Championships. This week, Daegu was the site of a test run of sorts, in the form of a pre-championships meet. But while the event was merely a warm-up for the main event later in the summer, some athletes took the opportunity to run fast nonetheless. Anna Mishchenko of Ukraine felt no ill-effects from her win in the season-opening Diamond League meeting in Doha last week, as she won the women’s 1500m in Daegu in 4:03.52, narrowly getting the best of Ethiopia’s Meskerem Assefa, who ran 4:03.63. Of note, Kaila McKnight of Australia ran 4:05.65 for fifth, as the top five women in the race were under the World Championships A-standard of 4:05.90.

Boaz Lalang of Kenya, who spent two years at Rend Lake College in downstate Illinois, ran 1:45.90 to win the men’s 800m. He beat American Duane Solomon, who has been on a tear of late, racing often and well. Solomon, a former USC All-American, finished in 1:46.16. Meanwhile, the men’s steeplechase resulted in a new world-leading mark (at the time), as Hillary Yego of Kenya led a 1-5 Kenya sweep in 8:12.08, narrowly beating former world championships bronze medalist Richard Mateelong (8:12.15).

The Healthy Kidney race in New York City was slated to feature a showdown between the two fastest men in history over 10K on the roads. But that matchup never materialized. The current world record holder, Leonard Komon, only 23, showed that he is the unequivocal king of the roads right now. Before even 5K, Komon dropped the former world record holder, Micah Kogo, and the former world cross country champion, Joseph Ebuya, by accelerating through Central Park’s famed rolling hills. His 27:35 was a new course record and earned him a $45,000 payday. Kogo outsprinted Ebuya to the line for second, 27:55 to 27:56, while Bobby Curtis was the top American in ninth in 29:09. On the women’s side, Ethiopia’s Buzunesh Deba got the win in 33:39.

In 2006, Fernando Cabada emerged as a legitimate force on the U.S. road racing scene with a win in the 25K championships in Grand Rapids, Mich. Since then, his career has had its share of ups (including a U.S. marathon title) and downs, but the promise he showed at this race in Michigan never seemed to materialize. But Cabada may be on the mend. In rainy conditions, he outdueled a strong contingent of racers in this year’s 25K championship, including Josh Moen (second in 1:16:09), Andrew Carlson (third in 1:16:35) and Nick Arciniaga (fourth in 1:17:22). Cabada’s 1:15:41 was off the 1:14:20 American record he set in 2006, but it’s still certainly a step in the right direction for the 28-year-old. Meanwhile, Molly Pritz had far fewer challengers in her race. The 23-year-old who trains with the Hansons group in Rochester Hills, Mich., jumped out to an early lead and won going away, finishing in 1:25:38, winning by three minutes over Hansons teammate Dot McMahan.

That Haile Gebrselassie won the Great Manchester Run in the UK was no surprise. That he had to battle Great Britain’s Chris Thompson certainly a shock. Gebrselassie has won this race each of the past three years, but Thompson, coming off a new 10,000m PR of 27:27.36 two weeks ago at the Payton Jordan meet at Stanford, hung tough in this year’s edition, forcing the ageless Ethiopian to a quick 28:10 finish. Thompson, the 10,000m silver medalist at last summer’s European Championships, was second in 28:21. Cross country specialist Sergey Lebid of Ukraine was third in 28:25, while fan favorite Craig Mottram of Australia was fourth in 28:36. Local favorite Helen Clitheroe made up for Thompson’s narrow defeat on home soil with her 31:45 win in the women’s race for Britain.

Ridouane Harroufi of Morocco got a surprise win in the 100th edition of this (in)famous 12K race across San Francisco. His 34:26 gave him an upset win over Direba Merga of Ethiopia, who was second in 34:29, and Allan Kiprono of Kenya, who was third in 34:31. In sixth, former Oregon Duck Jason Hartmann ran 35:28 to pull an upset of his own, finishing as the first American and edging Meb Keflezighi (35:34) and Bolota Asmerom (36:40).

The women’s race provided no such surprises. Lineth Chepkurui of Kenya, who seemingly wins every road race she enters, came away with another win here in 39:12, though she had to outkick Ethiopian Mamiut Daska to do it. Daska finished only a second back, as the duo put a solid gap on third placer Jelliah Tingea of Kenya, who ran 39:58. Honors for top American went to local Magdalena Lewy-Boulet, who was sixth in 41:26.

A Kenyan showdown in the men’s 1500m resulted in Nixon Chepseba again proving that he will be one of the season’s finest middle-distance runners. In the second of 14 Diamond League meetings, Chepseba beat 2008 Olympic gold medalist Asbel Kiprop, Mekonnen Gebremedhin of Ethiopia (the only non-Kenyan in the top 12), and last year’s sensation, Silas Kiplagat. Chepseba ran a world-leading 3:31.42 to win, while Kiprop ran a season best 3:31.76 in the tightly packed contest. The men’s steeplechase was similarly dominated by Kenyans — they occupied the top five spots, and nine of the top 10 — and Brimin Kipruto ran 8:02.28 to win, the fastest time in the world this year. Paul Koech was a close second in 8:02.42. (American Ben Bruce finished 12th but ran a season-best time of 8:26.00.)

In the only distance race on the women’s schedule, the 5,000m saw Kenyans and Ethiopians accounted for all 12 finishers. Kenya’s Vivian Cheruiyot ran a world-leading 14:31.92, better than the previous mark of her familiar Kenyan rival Linet Masai, who was third in this race in 14:32.95. (Ethiopia’s Senta Ejigu was second in 14:32.87.) Britain’s Jenny Meadows ran 2:00.54 to win the women’s 800m, nowhere near Jamaican Kenia Sinclair’s world-leading 1:58.58 from last week in Kingston, but a solid early-season mark nonetheless. American Heather Kampf finished eight in 2:03.85.

- In the Pac-10 meet, Lawi Lalang and Stephen Sambu of Arizona had solid races, as Lalang won the 5K in 13:47.29 to Sambu’s 13:47.39, as both opened up more than a ten second gap over the rest of the field. Sambu also won the 10K in 28:57.72, easily beating Stanford’s Chris Derrick (29:19.90). The women’s 800m in Arizona was quick as well; Washington State’s Anna Layman ran 2:03.48.

- At the Big 10 meet, Casimir Loxsom of Penn State continued his excellent season, winning the 800m in 1:47.70, while Indiana’s female steeplechasers had a good day with a 1-3-4 effort led by Sarah Pease 10:15.05 victory.

- At the SEC meet, Tennessee’s Chanelle Price took over where teammate Phoebe Wright left off, as the Volunteer got the win in the 800m in 2:04.22; Georgia’s Matt Cleaver ran a quick 8:49.12 to win the steeple.

- At the Big 12 Championships, all eyes were on Oklahoma State’s German Fernandez, as usual. Fernandez’s struggles continued with a DNF in the 5K, while Colorado’s Joe Bosshard capitalized by winning in 13:50.62. Betsy Saina of Iowa State picked up the slack for a graduated Lisa Koll by winning the women’s race in 16:06.05.